| HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects African American women. Understanding more about the experiences of violence and abuse may help improve healthcare for African American women affected by both conditions. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore violence and abuse in existing narratives of African American women living with HIV/AIDS. Qualitative secondary analysis took place on a set of 15 existing interviews with African American women who participated in an earlier feminist narrative study of women's experiences living with HIV/AIDS. The research questions were, "How do African American women living with HIV/AIDS describe violence and abuse in their lives?" and "Looking within cases and across cases, what patterns become apparent among reports of violence and abuse, major life transitions, and significant health circumstances in the HIV/AIDS stories African American women tell?";An innovative multistage, side-by-side step narrative analysis, using data reduction through data displays, a standardized nursing informatics language, and data display software generated an otherwise unattainable view of violence and compounding life issues for African American women living with HIV. The women could not explain living with HIV/AIDS without telling about the violence they had experienced. The study suggested that: women integrate experiences of living with HIV with those of living with violence; violence against women tends to be cumulative rather than singular in nature, and can affect women across their life spans; and compounding life issues intricately intertwine with violence and HIV. Recommendations for healthcare practice, education, policies and research are submitted. |
